James May won't be returning to Top Gear – unless Jeremy Clarkson's back on the BBC show.
May told The Guardian that he has no plans to continue working on Top Gear without its former host, who was axed by the BBC after a 'fracas' with the show's producer, Oisin Tymon.
May insists that he and Hammond appearing alongside what he described as a "surrogate Jeremy" would be "forced" and "lame".
"Me and Hammond with a surrogate Jeremy is a non-starter, it just wouldn't work. That would be lame, or 'awks' as young people say," he explained.
"It has to be the three of us. You can't just put a surrogate Jeremy in and expect it to carry on. It would be forced. I don't believe they would be stupid enough to try that."
May did offer the show's millions of fans a glimmer of hope for the future by adding: "It doesn't mean I won't go back - we may all go back in the future. It might just be we have a break from it. I don't know."
Clarkson, May and Hammond's contracts all expired at the end of last month, and the BBC has said it plans to renew Top Gear for 2016. Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Clarkson's final three episodes will be aired later this year.
